My Last Race

[MikeBrownsJob]

So I wanted to share something on this forum. I ran cross-country in high school. Pretty average but posted some decent times. Went to college and got but for the past 5 years I've been back in it again. The thrill of racing is to explain. It's such a high watching someone slowly deteriorate before your eyes as you pass them. The training, the logging, the set-backs, the triumphs, the racing community, midnight fun runs, etc. Running is just a beautiful thing. So in 2012 I told myself this was my year. I was going to go for it. I was going to "win" a race or two. No more 3rd or 10th or 22nd. I want number 1. I had a couple of runs leading up to the target race.

My training started December 2011. A steady base of 55 miles a week slowly upping to 70 and throwing in 2 workouts a week, a tempo(a steady 2 miles warm-up, then 8-10 miles at a pace about 15 seconds slower than marathon pace, 2 mile cool-down) and mile repeats. They are equivalent to 400 meter repeats. I was in phenomenal shape heading into a May marathon. I PR'd with a time of 2:49:32,(6:28) pace. One of the best experiences of my life. All the hard-work and training had paid off. Still had unfinished business though. I followed that performance up with a 10K(35:44) and a 5K(17:08)..2 personal bests in one season! My running club and buddies definitely took notice at my success. All these races were highly competitive so while I did an excellent job I wasn't close to the leaders of the field. I believe the winner of the 10K came in around 30 minutes. 5 minutes is an eternity.

September came around and the stage was set. 10 miles of glory. I remember asking around in the lobby before the race what people were looking to run. Most were stating 55 or below. I was looking at sub 57 but more importantly I was looking to win by any means necessary. We all lined up. I was shuffling my way to the front. I looked at dude like this my spot.

*gun goes off*

here we go. One guy I had never seen takes off. A member of my running club takes off after him. He's considerably faster than I am but had a really crappy year due to a nagging injury. I go through mile 2 at 11:06. I am third place and feeling fine. I know I'm 20-25 seconds faster than intended pace but fcku it. I'm going for broke.

Mile 3: These dudes are picking up ground? 16:38

Mile 4: These dudes are out at this point. Almost a half mile gap between us but I'm still in 3rd. 22:28

Turnaround: I didn't even get a sip off that counter. I was so focused on making up ground, I completely missed my face when throwing back the cup. This was also a good time to see who was behind me. I was feeling and looking and hell-bent on catching one of these fools.

Mile 5&6 was the beginning of the end. I felt my side twitching like no other. The ensuing cramp was staring me dead in the eye like for going to fast.

Mile 7: Not only did I start to cramp up, I got passed by 2 geeks in hydration belts. Running fanny packs.

Mile 8: I knew the dream was over. At this point I'm in 6th place with the field baring down on me. I was just holding on my side in pain. I'm way off pace at this point. Hell I might not even finish.

Mile 9: Seven people pass me. I didn't have anything left. No second gear. My side is killing. My pace at this point is around 7:45 ..I crossed the finish line in 62 minutes and 12 seconds. Damn near five minutes are target.

I was devastated. I was looking at a top 3 finish possibly stealing the race and fading all the way back to 14th. I took a month off from running after that. Last race of the season before getting back into it. Right now I'm in the middle of my base phase. Just building mileage. I'll keep everyone update and anyone who has any questions about running feel free to ask. I have some really strange goals. Sub 16(5K) while benching 250 lbs. Oddly enough I'm benching 225LBS after only 3 months of lifting. 5"11 168 lbs. I'm way off the sub 16K though :

Just experimenting with different things. Anyways this is my year. I'm winning me a race or two this year. Training harder than ever

 

[ALLiKNOWizPAIN]

can i get the cliff notes of this bro

 

[MikeBrownsJob]

can i get the cliff notes of this bro

Lol you good.

 

[MikeBrownsJob]

So what I do as far as weightlifting is 3 days on, 1 day off. I workout twice a day 5 days a week and one single usually on that day off weightlifting. Most of my runs are 2 minutes off my race pace, so I'm looking to run a 5:30 pace, that means most of my training runs are done at a 7:30 pace. Sometimes even slower. Science behind this is that it obviously improved endurance but one needs a base before going into workouts.

Sunday a.m.

6 mile run - 45 minutes.

PM - 3 mile run - 24 minutes.

Chest/Triceps

Incline - 135x12, 155x10, 175x8, 195x6
Bench(close grip) - 135x8, 185x5, 135x8....I over did the incline and was wiped
Decline - 115x8, 135x6, 155x4

Straight Bar Pushdowns - 50x10, 60x8, 70x6
Rope extensions - 50x10, 60x8, 85x6



Monday A.M. - 8 mile run - 1 hour

P.M. Back/Biceps

Dumbbell Row - 60x10, 65x8, 70x6, 75x4
Close Grip Pull Down -85x12, 100x10, 120x8, 140x6
Cable Row - 100x12, 120x10, 140x8, 160x4
Barbell Curl - 60x10, 70x8, 80x6, 90x4
Dumbbell Curl kneeling - 25x8, 30x6, 35x4

The killer was the sets of inverted rows and pull ups.

5 pullups by 8 inverted rows 4 sets. I'll post yesterday and today, later.

 

[MMS]

what would you have done differently in preparing for the first race?

 

[MikeBrownsJob]

what would you have done differently in preparing for the first race?

You mean my last race? My first race in the op was a marathon in which I PR'd. Couldn't have asked for a better race. Conditions were perfect that morning. A cool 48 degrees when gun went off. By the half it was 55. The six months leading up to that were the best six months of training in my life. Just consistent mileage and good workouts. Nutrition could have been better. I'll speak about runners and weight later on in this thread. But overall excellent preparation. My previous marathon time was 2:55.

This last race I felt great as well. I just didn't run my race. I ran the racers and chased after two guys who were considerably faster and ended up fading from 3rd place. It was stupid and amateurish of me, but man those first 5 miles were fun. I had coworkers cheering me on. They had never seen me run so they couldn't believe how fast I was moving. I thought I was going to catch those guys, but it wasn't meant to be.

But there's a whole new season upon us

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Man that was an entertaining read

I feel like building mass and running marathons are gonna be at odds with each other

My father in law is a marathon runner, there's nothing to him

I know nozzing about running cause I hate it, but I'm a believer in fasted training for both lifting and cardio... I had a lot of success with fasted training for cycling, I imagine many of the mechanisms transfer over